MAKES 1 LITRE
1 litre full-fat milk, organic if possible
2 tablespoons milk powder (optional, but worth adding as it will give you a creamier yoghurt)
6 tablespoons natural live yoghurt, organic if possible
Start by sterilising your jars – if you haven’t got one large jar, use a couple of medium-size ones. Wash the jars and lids thoroughly in hot soapy water, rinsing them well, then place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make sure the jars aren’t touching each other and pop them into a preheated oven, at 140°C/gas 1, for around 10 minutes. If you’re using a Kilner jar, sterilise the rubber seals by soaking them in boiling water. Keep the oven on while you make the yoghurt.
Pour the milk into a large heavy-based saucepan and place on a medium heat. Once it reaches 82°C, remove from the heat immediately – don’t let the milk come to the boil. Whisk in the milk powder and leave to one side for the temperature to drop. At this point turn off your oven. When the milk gets to 45°C, whisk in the yoghurt, then carefully ladle or spoon into the jars. You want to keep the jars warm for around 5–6 hours for the yoghurt to ferment. You can do this by wrapping them in tea towels and storing them in a warm cupboard, or you can do what I do and put them back into the turned-off, warm oven. After 5–6 hours you will have a thickened and tart yoghurt. Place the jars in the fridge for the yoghurt to thicken even more. It’ll be ready after 3 hours.
Alternatively, you can cultivate the yoghurt in a heated thermos (you’ll need a couple for this recipe, or you can just halve the quantities). Heat your thermos by filling it with almost boiling water and leaving it in there for 5 minutes. Carefully pour out the water and spoon in the yoghurt. Leave the yoghurt for 7–8 hours in the thermos, then pour into the sterilised jars and store in the fridge. Again, leave for 3 hours to set before eating.
Homemade Yoghurt
LABNEH
A simple way to make cheese at home, labneh is a beautifully mild Middle Eastern cream cheese that requires little effort. It is perfect as part of a meze or breakfast spread or even with fruit and honey as a pud. Incredibly simple and satisfying to make.
MAKES 1KG
1kg Greek yoghurt
2 teaspoons sea salt
In a large bowl mix together the yoghurt and sea salt. Line a sieve with a large double-layer piece of muslin and spoon in the salted yoghurt. Gather together the muslin sides and tie them together. Hang the yoghurt-filled muslin from a shelf in the fridge, with a bowl underneath to catch the whey. If you don’t have bars to tie it to, try suspending it from a wooden spoon balanced on two large items. You could pop the sieve over a mixing bowl and place a plate with a weight on top of it (such as a heavy jar or tin), but gravity does give you a slightly superior, creamy labneh.
Leave the yoghurt draining for 24 hours, then remove from the muslin and serve. Made this way, labneh will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, in an airtight container. To store your labneh for longer, leave the yoghurt hanging for 36 hours, then roll the cheese into balls and carefully place in a sterilised jar (see here). Pour in enough olive oil to completely cover and pop into the fridge. Your labneh will keep for weeks, even months, this way.
Labneh
HOMEMADE BUTTER
Making butter is much easier than most people realise, and, as with yoghurt, is rewarding and impressive. My mum would regularly buy gold-top milk from the milkman and pour the cream top into a frappé shaker for us to shake into butter. We loved it, such a treat! As a kid I thought our frappé shaker was magical; now I just think our mum was and still is the coolest.
MAKES AROUND 450G
12 ice cubes
1 litre double cream (the best quality you can buy)
sea salt
Fill a large jug with cold water and the ice cubes. Leave it to one side. Pour the double cream into the bowl of a free-standing mixer, making sure the bowl is squeaky clean. (You could use a mixing bowl and an electric hand whisk, just be prepared to stand and hold it for a while.) Start by whisking on a low speed, gradually increasing to high. Whisk for around 6–7 minutes, until the cream has clearly split into butter solids and buttermilk. Using clean hands or a sieve, scoop the butter solids out of the bowl and squeeze out the buttermilk (keep this, though, as it will make delicious breads, cakes and dressings – check out the caraway and honey buns here or my garden salad here).
Place the butter solids in a large bowl and pour over some of the ice-cold water. You want to rinse the buttermilk off the butter solids and squeeze the solids together to form a ball. Pour away the water and repeat a few more times, rinsing and squishing until the water is completely clear. Season with salt to taste, and there you have it, homemade butter! I like to roll mine into a log and wrap it in greaseproof paper. Or you could store it in a ceramic dish – whatever you like.
Homemade Butter
PUMPKIN SEED BUTTER
A hugely popular alternative spread for your morning toast (or rippled into yoghurt, or as the base of a dip), nut and seed butters are so easy to make, and it is much cheaper than buying them already made. I absolutely love proper butter and this is by no means an alternative – how can you compete! But it is delicious in its own right. Also it’s a great way of getting some good oils into your diet.
MAKES AROUND 400G
300g pumpkin seeds
50g extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
a couple of pinches of sea salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.
Scatter the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 8–10 minutes, until lightly golden and toasted. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then pour into a food processor. Blitz in the processor for 5 minutes, until you have a smooth paste. You’ll need to stop a few times and scrape the mixture down the sides with a spatula. When it is completely smooth, add the remaining ingredients and blitz again to combine.
Decant into a jar and pop into the fridge. Try using it on toast, as a dip, in cakes …
PROPER CUSTARD
Custard doesn’t need much of an introduction; whether it’s Bird’s or made just using egg yolks and cream, everyone seems to have their favourite. This is mine. Laced with vanilla, thick and creamy but not too rich. There really isn’t much in life that is better than a helping of Praline Orchard Pie with Bourbon here with a jug of proper custard.
MAKES JUST OVER 600ML
300ml full-fat or semi-skimmed milk
300ml single cream
1 vanilla pod
5 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 heaped tablespoons golden caster sugar
Pour the milk and cream into a heavy-based saucepan. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds into the pan and pop in the pod too. Place on a low heat and very gently bring to a simmer. Don’t allow the mixture to boil.
While the milk is on the hob, whisk together the egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a large mixing bowl. When the milk is ready, remove the vanilla pod from the pan and gently pour the hot milk into the bowl with the whisked egg yolks, whisking continuously so they don’t scramble.
As soon as it is all incorporated, pour the custard back into a clean pan on a low heat. Stir constantly, and let the custard gently thicken. When it coats the back of your wooden spoon, it’s ready. Pour into a jug and serve straight away. If you aren’t serving the custard straight away be sure to cover the top of the custard with a piece of cling film, to stop a skin forming. When you want to reheat it, pour it in to a heatproof bowl, and warm over a pan of simmering water.
HIGHLY ADDICTIVE SEA SALT CARAMEL
Does what it says on the tin – the most versatile (and addictive) of baking ingredients. Homemade sea salt caramel can transform many a cake and pudding.
MAKES JUST UNDER 500G
100g unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
130ml double cream
1 teaspoon sea salt (Maldon or Halen Môn are great
)
Cut the butter into cubes. Pour the sugar into a wide heavy-based pan and place on a medium heat. Melt the sugar without stirring (otherwise it will crystallise), and give the pan a swirl to melt it gently and evenly. Once all the sugar has melted and is a deep golden colour, dot in the cubed butter. It will bubble up, so swirl the pan gently but quickly until all mixed together. Pour in the double cream and whisk it into the caramel until it is all incorporated. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt.
Pour into a bowl, jar or sealed container and leave to cool completely. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Highly Addictive Sea Salt Caramel
CLASSIC STOCKS
Found in almost every store cupboard, stock cubes are a great way of adding flavour to stews, soups, gravies, and so on, but there is nothing quite like making your own. It’s not an exact science, and is something quite instinctive. So instead of giving you exact quantities, I want to talk about flavours and methods.
BASE
Whether you are making vegetable, fish, poultry or meat stock, you’ll need aromatics. I always use a couple of peeled onions, carrots and sticks of celery, all roughly chopped. You’ll need about 8 peppercorns and a bouquet garni – a few sprigs of herbs tied together. Try thyme, bay and parsley stalks for a standard stock. If you want an Asian inspired broth, try herbs and spices such as coriander stalks, lemongrass and star anise in your base – depending on what you are using it for. A thick slice of ginger would be great too.
VEGETABLE STOCK
Vegetable stock is the only stock where I soften the base first before adding water. Mainly to encourage the caramelised flavours from the onions, and for a slightly deeper flavour. Pour a drizzle of olive oil into a large saucepan, pop on to a medium-low heat and sauté your chopped onions, carrots and celery for 10 minutes, until slightly softened but not coloured. At this point I like to add extra veggies. A sliced leek adds great flavour, and a large handful of wiped and torn mushrooms and a chopped bulb of fennel are great additions. Add to the pan with the herbs and peppercorns (or whatever spices you are adding), fry for a couple of minutes, then pour in 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, then reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for 1 hour. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool completely before straining.
FISH STOCK
Fish stock is incredibly simple to make. Simply place 600g of fish bones, offcuts and/or shellfish shells in a large saucepan. Add the base ingredients (for fish stock I like to replace one of the onions with a fennel bulb) and cover with lots of cold water. Bring to the boil, skim off any scum that comes to the surface, then reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently for 30 minutes – you don’t want to cook it for too long, otherwise it will become bitter. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and either leave to cool and pop the stock straight into the fridge, or, for a more concentrated stock, place it back on the hob over a medium heat and reduce it down further. Once refrigerated, use within 3 days, or freeze.
MEAT STOCK
For a meat stock you want a rich, deeper flavour, so I’d always roast raw bones first. Mix 1.3–1.5kg of meat bones and offcuts with the roughly chopped onions, carrots and celery in a roasting tray and pop into the oven for 40–45 minutes, at 200°C/gas 6, until browned and gnarly. Transfer everything to a saucepan with the rest of the base ingredients and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that comes to the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer very gently for around 5–8 hours, topping up with water if it reduces away too much, making sure the bones are always covered. When your stock is ready, strain through a fine mesh sieve and either cool the stock and refrigerate, or, to give you a more concentrated stock, pop it back on a medium heat and reduce it down further. Cool, then put into the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively freeze once cooled.
POULTRY STOCK
For a pale, delicate stock, place around 1.3–1.5kg of chicken or turkey bones and offcuts into a large saucepan with the base ingredients (you could also use the carcass left over from a Sunday roast). Cover with water and bring to the boil. Skim away any scum that comes to the surface, then reduce the heat to as low as possible, so that the stock is just very gently ticking away. Simmer for around 2 hours, topping up with water if it reduces too much. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and cool down, or, for a more concentrated stock, reduce down further over a medium heat. Cool and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, pop into the freezer. For a richer, more intense stock, roast the bones for 35–40 minutes first, as in the meat stock recipe, and continue as above.
PEACH AND BASIL CORDIAL
This cordial is summer in a glass. Perfect for a party, or just to have stored in the fridge for a summer’s day; be sure to serve it with lots of ice and sparkling water.
MAKES 1 LITRE
6 peaches
7 lemons
250g caster sugar
12 basil sprigs, plus extra leaves for garnish
sparkling water, to serve
Halve the peaches, remove the stones, and chop the flesh into 2cm pieces. Place in a large pan and finely grate in the zest of 3 of the lemons. Stir in the sugar and basil sprigs, then top with 500ml of water. Place the pan over a medium heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Leave it to simmer, but don’t let it boil, until the fruit is completely soft. Mash the fruit with a potato masher to help it cook right down, and leave it simmering for a further 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened a little. Then remove it from the heat and set it aside to cool.
Once the fruit mixture has cooled completely, strain it through a coarse sieve into a mixing bowl, discarding all the solids. Squeeze in the juice from the lemons and stir to combine.
Pour the cordial into a large jug or sterilized bottle. Store in the fridge, undiluted, for up to a week. To serve, pour around 50ml of cordial into a glass (tweak depending on how strong you like your drinks/how tall your glass is) and top up with sparkling water.
Peach and Basil Cordial
MY SPECIAL MINT TEA
TURMERIC, LEMON AND BLACK PEPPER TEA
My special mint tea infusion is calming, warming, and perfect after a heavy meal. Everyone I make this for is a convert, even my mint-tea-hating sister. Fresh turmeric might sound like a difficult thing to get, but you’d be surprised – seek out a good Indian supermarket and you’ll find this peculiar-looking little root in the veg section. It looks like a smaller, orangey-brown piece of ginger. Treat it the same way, peeling it by scraping with a teaspoon to reveal the vibrant root underneath. (Be warned though – it stains!) Try to use it whenever you can, as turmeric is incredibly high in iron, which we need to make red blood cells. These quantities are easily multiplied and if you are making them for more than one, they are even nicer made in a teapot.
MINT TEA, SERVES 1
2 sprigs of mint
1 heaped teaspoon good-quality honey
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
Wash and trim the mint sprigs and place them in your mug. Fill the mug with just-boiled water and leave the tea to steep for a minute before stirring in the honey and orange blossom water. Such a delicious after-dinner drink.
TURMERIC, LEMON AND BLACK PEPPER TEA, SERVES 1
a 2cm piece of turmeric
½ a lemon
1 heaped teaspoon good-quality honey
a good pinch of ground black pepper
Peel and finely grate the turmeric into your mug, squeeze in the lemon juice and add the rest of the ingredients. Fill the mug with just-boiled water and give it a good stir to dissolve the honey. By the time it’s at drinking temperature your tea should be bright yellow and packed with goodness.
My Special Mint Tea; Turmeric, Lemon and Black Pepper Tea
ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN PUNCH
Everyone loves a cocktail party, but if you’re the host you want to be concentrating on the guests and not constantly making drinks. This garden punch is a winning solution, i
t’s delicious, delicate and refreshing and works wonderfully when made in a batch.
SERVES 14
600ml soda water
1.5 litres good-quality apple juice
edible flowers (optional), such as rose petals, violets and pansies
250ml elderflower cordial
400ml gin
100ml limoncello (triple sec also works really well)
3 lemons
½ a cucumber
½ a bunch of mint
The day before you want to serve your punch, put the soda water and apple juice into the fridge to chill, and if you want to make things extra special, prepare some flower ice cubes. Line two ice cube trays with the flowers (alternatively you could use mint leaves, or fruits such as grapes, gooseberries or strawberries). Use boiled and cooled water to fill the trays and pop them into the freezer – this will give you clear ice cubes for maximum effect.
When you are ready to serve your punch, mix the cordial, gin, limoncello and apple juice in a large punch bowl. Finely slice the lemons, and slice the cucumber into ribbons with a potato peeler. Pick the mint leaves and add everything to the bowl along with the soda water. Pop in the flower ice cubes (or ordinary ice cubes) and you’re ready to go.
Stirring Slowly Page 16